Aretha Franklin

Okay, okay, we know “Doing a 140” doesn’t have even remotely the same ring as “Doing a 180,” but what can we tell you? These particular reissues are on 140-gram vinyl rather than 180-gram vinyl, so we felt like it was better to be factual. It’s just the right thing to do, you know? (Also, it’s the legal thing to do, so there’s that as well.)

21 years ago today, a crowd of over 10,000 people – including more than a few rock ‘n’ roll VIPs – gathered together for the dedication ceremony of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had been a long time coming, something that had been long discussed but which took an extended period of time to actually bring to fruition, and when it finally did, there were plenty of people ready to celebrate the fact that it had. Michael R. White, mayor of Cleveland, took the stage while Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City” played, repeatedly trumpeting, “We did it!” He also made a point of noting how many jokes were made at Cleveland’s expense during the process of trying to make the dream of having a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame into a reality, saying, “Today we’re telling the whole world that we’ve got what it takes and we’re doing it. We ought to be proud of what we’ve accomplished today, but we ought to also tell everybody who will listen, ‘Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

45 years ago today, the Queen of Soul released the second live album of her career, delivering a performance which demonstrated the diversity of her repertoire and the power of her voice…as if the latter was ever in question.

Aretha Franklin turns 74 today, but rather than recap her life and times and dole out information about this hit album and that chart-topping single, we thought we’d instead shine a quick spotlight on her two short but oh so sweet turns as an actress, which took place almost two decades apart but involved her playing a woman who sings Aretha Franklin songs.

Can it be that I NEVER LOVED A MAN THE WAY I LOVE YOU was Aretha Franklin's 11th studio album? That her debut for Atlantic Records was the one that finally catapulted her to fame speaks to the importance of having a savvy producer (Jerry Wexler) and the right studio environment (Muscle Shoals) to bring out the best in an artist.

54 years ago today, one of rock 'n' roll's great iconoclasts performed his first professional gig, and while it didn't necessarily set Winnipeg on fire, Neil Young would soon become one of the most respected musicians in the world…and, yes, that includes Canada, too.

Neil's father was a writer and his mother was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, so music wouldn't necessarily be the first career path you'd expect him to take, but during the mid-1950s, he started paying more attention to the radio, and once he discovered Elvis Presley, he also discovered his true calling. His first instrument of note was a plastic ukulele, and he kept upgrading his ukulele to get a better instrument, but as history reveals, he eventually switched over to guitar.

A few weeks ago, Rhino released Soul Manifesto, a 12-disc box set dedicated to the career of the one and only Otis Redding, a man we described as one of the defining voices in '60s R&B. Now it's time for another instant record collection for one of the other defining voices in '60s R&B…and '70s R&B…and so it goes through the decades, all the way up to the present, because no one has ever argued with Aretha Franklin's title as the Queen of Soul. (Not without hearing a few choice words about how wrong they are, anyway.)

45 years ago today, Aretha Franklin released an album which is considered by critics to be one of the best of her entire career, even if its initial commercial response wasn’t quite as strong as that of the albums that bookended it.

Released late in the summer of 1970, Spirit in the Dark certainly wasn’t ignored by Aretha’s fans: when all was said and done, the first single, “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied),” had provided her with a #1 R&B hit and a #11 pop hit, and the second single – the title track – went to #3 on the R&B Singles chart and made it to #23 on the Hot 100. As an album, though, it became Aretha’s first effort for Atlantic Records to miss the top 20, something she’d managed with the previous six albums. As to the reason, consider that it was Aretha’s second album of the year – This Girl’s in Love with You had only just been released in January – and then keep in mind that when she came back in 1972 with Young, Gifted and Black, she was right back in the top 20 again, which is really all that matters.

Just wanna dance the night away, jump around or let your Le Freak flag fly? This one's for you. We've rolled out the hits - nothin' but 'em - so you don't have to find 'em and file 'em away yourself. Follow Topsify Greatest Hits in the Spotify world and you could take home some of the greatest hits in the physical world. One lucky follower will receive special edition vinyl from Led Zeppelin, Daft Punk, Donny Hathaway, Van Halen, Eric Clapton, and Aretha Franklin. Simply follow the playlist by clicking on the button below and your name will be automatically entered to win, easy peasy!

73 years ago today, the Queen of Soul was born, and the world hasn't been the same since. (We mean this in a good way, of course. But you probably figured that.)

Over the course of her career, Aretha Franklin has seen 20 of her songs make their way to the top of the Billboard R&B Singles chart, starting with 1967's “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) and finishing - at least for the time being, anyway - with 1985's “Freeway of Love.” This is an amazing accomplishment, to be certain, but to celebrate Aretha's birthday, we decided to put together a playlist containing these songs…except they're performed by other people.